1. Field of the Invention
The present invention is related to an improvement in gas-operated guns, pistols, rifles and the like and more particularly, to a connector whereby gas-operated guns having a cartridge-piercing assembly, including a threaded flange skirt, and utilizing a hollow-piercing needle to engage a pressurized gas cartridge internal to the firearm can be easily converted to use an external source of compressed gas for shooting projectiles therefrom.
2. Description of the Related Art Including Information Disclosed under 37 CFR Sections 1.97-1.99
A variety of gas-operated guns, pistols, rifles and the like are known which shoot projectiles by a power source of a pressurized air cartridge or bottle set internal to the firearm. Such cartridges commonly contain nitrogen, oxygen or carbon dioxide under relatively high pressure, and are usually miniaturized in design to be readily insertable into a handle or other portion of a firearm for communication with a cartridge piercing receiving assembly. Air source cartridges, while under pressure, cannot be mutilated or incinerated, exposed to extreme heat or stored above 120 degrees.
Miniaturized air source cartridges provide a limited internal power source for the gun which is quickly exhausted, necessitating disposal for replacement by another miniaturized air source cartridge. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 4,422,433 to Milliman illustrates an air gun which utilizes a pressurized air cartridge set within the handle of the gun. The gun illustrated in the Milliman Patent is commonly referred to as a Crosman AirGun which fires 1.77 caliber pellets utilizing a 12 gram Powerlet CO2 air cartridge. Crosman AirGun and Powerlet are registered Trademarks of the Coleman Company. However, after approximately sixty shots of the Crosman AirGun (depending upon temperature) the pressurized gas cartridge internal to the firearm is spent, thus requiring the firearm user to properly discard the spent cartridge and replace it with another pressurized gas cartridge for the next sixty shots.
The connector to external air source for gas-operated guns of the present invention replaces and is an alternative to pressurized gas cartridges set internal to a gun and particularly, is designed to alleviate the need for disposal of spent miniaturized air source cartridges and replacement of the same by allowing the gas-operated gun to utilize a higher capacity pressurized air source bottle external to the gun. High capacity pressurized air bottles can accommodate thousands of shots of a gun, are commercially available, and are refillable eliminating the need for disposal.
Examples of gas operated guns are disclosed in the following United States Patents:
______________________________________ U.S. Pat. No. Patentee ______________________________________ 4,422,433 Milliman 4,004,566 Fischer 2,713,859 Bradfield 2,537,358 Lincoln ______________________________________
Gas-operated guns have utilized internal pressurized air cartridges. In U.S. Pat. No. 4,422,433 to Milliman, pressurized gas is supplied to a valve body by a carbon dioxide cartridge which is mounted inside the handle portion of the gun. The carbon dioxide gas flows through a cartridge piercing assembly 37 and through a connecting tube assembly 38 to valve body 25, where, upon firing, pressurized carbon dioxide is allowed to flow from the valve body through specified openings in the inside of a valve stem 23 to fire a projectile. Milliman notes that the gun may be powered by gases other than carbon dioxide, e.g., pressurized air.
Gas-operated guns have also utilized an external air source. For example, U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,004,566 to Fischer and 2,713,859 to Bradfield disclose pressurized air operated guns which utilize a supply of compressed air external to the gun. Fischer discloses a supply line connected to the hand grip of a gun which includes a conduit 20 which leads from a supply of compressed gas external to the gun to the gun housing. Likewise in Bradfield, there is disclosed a pressure supply hose 7 which leads from a source of relatively high air or gas pressure external to the gun.
In U.S. Pat. No. 2,537,358 to Lincoln there is disclosed an adaptor whereby conventional hand air pump firearms can be converted into a gas cartridge operated gun by having its hand air pump removed for replacement by a compressed gas cartridge.